The Republican Party and the broader House of Representatives were thrown into chaos on Thursday when Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California dropped his bid for Speaker of the House.
McCarthy, John Boehner's lieutenant was widely expected to become the next House speaker until he abruptly and without warning dropped his bid. The sudden move throws the Republican party into chaos and may cause the party to become too splintered to get behind a candidate.
McCarthy announced he was dropping his bid to better unite the caucus after his Benghazi gaffe where he suggested the purpose of the committee investigating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was to bring down her poll numbers. Rumors of an affair with fellow representative Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) also persisted however both have denied it and there is currently no evidence that one took place.
This sudden change is good news for the far right who have been outraged at the idea of someone from House leadership taking over. They felt that McCarthy would have been another Boehner, someone they feel is too weak on conservative values and too willing to cave in to Obama's demands.
With McCarthy out there are now just two candidates left in the race for speaker. Jason Chaffetz of Utah and Daniel Webster of Florida. Both of whom are attractive to the tea party and claim they are willing to stand up to the Democrats. Meanwhile the moderate Republicans are courting Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, John Kline of Minnesota, and Tom Price of Georgia.
With no clear candidate to clear the 218 votes needed to win the race it would appear that the House may be in turmoil for some time. Boehner, who announced he would leave at the end of October may need to stay longer until the party elects a new speaker. Until then, the chaos within the House will continue.
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